The UMBC men’s lacrosse team is one of five America East Conference squads battling for a playoff berth as the regular season comes to a conclusion on Saturday, April 27. Tenth-ranked Albany (10-3, 4-0) has sewn up the top seed, but everything else is up for grabs as the Retrievers (5-7, 2-2) host Binghamton (5-8, 1-3) at 3:40 p.m. UMBC’s 14 seniors will be honored in pregame ceremonies and coverage is available on Q1370 and via www.umbcretrievers.tv.

With a win, the Retrievers would clinch a spot in the four-team playoff for the tenth time in ten league seasons. UMBC could be seeded No. 2, 3 or 4. The combination of a Retriever loss and Stony Brook victory vs. Albany would eliminate UMBC from the postseason. Hartford plays at Vermont in the other league contest.

Gregoire scored a career-best five points, but the Retrievers fell, 16-10, to tenth-ranked Albany at John Fallon Field on April 19. Gregoire tallied four goals and added an assist, recording the third four-goal game of his career and giving him 10 goals in three games vs. Albany. He also leads UMBC and is tied for fourth in the conference with 15 points in four league contests.

Jones leads the club in scoring with 27 goals and 32 total points. Jones became the 30th Retriever to hit the 100-point plateau and now has 108 points (88-20-108) total points for his career.

UMBC is 4-1 at home this year and 21-4 at home in 10 years of America East Conference competition.

Binghamton (5-8, 1-3 AE) came up just short on April 20, dropping an 8-7 America East conference game to visiting Vermont (4-9, 1-3 AE) at the Bearcats Sports Complex. The Catamounts used a 4-2 first quarter and never trailed as they secured their first conference win of the season. Bearcat junior Brandon Planck netted three goals for the Bearcats who fell to 1-3 in conference play. Planck netted his fifth career hat trick in the loss. JR M Michael Antinozzi scored two goals and added an assist, increasing his career point tally to 89. JR A Matt Springer he tied the single season goals record of 32 set just last season by teammate Michael Antinozzi.

Binghamton has had six games decided by two goals or less and are 3-3 in those six contests. They are 2-4 on the road this season. The Bearcats can earn a spot in the playoffs with a win today and a Hartford win over Vermont.

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Gregoire scored back-to-back goals late in the third quarter and early in the fourth to bring the Retrievers to within 11-9 with 10:48 remaining. But the high-powered Great Danes reeled off three straight goals in a span of 2:12 to take its biggest lead of the game at 14-9 with 6:36 to play.

UMBC freshman midfielder Pat Young (Ewing, N.J./Christchurch School) briefly halted the surge and cut the deficit to four goals with 5:10 to play, but the Retrievers could get no closer.

Albany won its sixth consecutive game, improved to 10-3 overall, 4-0 in America East play and clinched the top seed in the America East Tournament. UMBC saw its two-game winning streak halted and slipped to 5-7, 2-2.

Gregoire tallied four goals and added an assist, recording the third four-goal game of his career and giving him 10 goals in three games vs. Albany. Young was UMBC’s only other multiple-goal scorer with a pair of tallies.

The hosts got out to a 4-1 lead in the late stages of the first quarter, but UMBC responded with a 4-1 run and tied the game at 5-5 on senior Scott Jones” (Port Coquitlam, B.C./Terry Fox) lone tally of the game with 5:58 to play in the second stanza.

The Great Danes surged again with a quick three-goal flurry, but goals by Young and Gregoire brought UMBC to within 8-7 at the half. Gregoire’s final goal of the half occurred just before time expired.

Albany outshot UMBC, 46-36, including 11-4 in the fourth quarter. UMBC sophomore goalkeeper Wes DiRito (Odenton, Md./DeMatha) kept UMBC in the game in the early stages and made all nine of his saves in the first three quarters. Albany freshman keeper Blaze Riorden had 13 stops for his side. ‘

UMBC completes the regular season on Saturday, April 27 when they host the Binghamton Bearcats. The Retrievers will honor their 14 seniors prior to the 3:30 opening draw at UMBC Stadium.

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BALTIMORE- UMBC exploded for a season-high 19 goals and defeated the visiting Vermont Catamounts, 19-6, in an America East Conference match-up at UMBC Stadium.

The Retrievers improved to 1-1 in league play and 4-6 overall, while Vermont slipped to 3-8, 0-2.

Senior attackman Scott Jones (Port Coquitlam, B.C./Terry Fox) and junior face-off specialist Phil Poe (Harwood, Md./DeMatha) produced sterling effort for the hosts. Jones scored a career-high six goals and surpassed the 100-point plateau in his tenure, while Poe recorded a school record 23 face-off wins in the resounding victory.

Jones became the 30th player in school history to record 100 points with 86 goals and 18 assists for 104 points.

The 19 goals scored by UMBC is the most since a 20-11 victory over Vermont in the 2007 season and the 13-goal differential is the most since an 18-5 victory over Mount St. Mary’s in 2001.

Vermont junior attackman Graham Horvath led the visitors with a pair of goals.

After a quiet first five minutes, UMBC erupted for three goals in a two-minute span. Jones scored the Retrievers’ first man-down goal of the year, picking up a loose ball and the midline and beating the Catamount defense down the field to score unassisted at the 5:45 mark. Nearly a minute later, senior attackman Matt Gregoire (Crofton, Md./South River) whipped a shot past Vermont starting keeper Justin Rosenberg from eight yards out after receiving a feed from freshman middie Pat Young (Ewing, N.J./Christchurch School). Freshman Nate Lewnes (Arnold, Md./St. Mary’s) capped the sequence by finishing senior midfielder Scott Hopmann’s (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary’s) feed.

UMBC increase the lead to 6-0 after 15 minutes as Gregoire completed a hat trick of his own in the first quarter and junior midfielder Zach Linkous (Jarrettsville, Md./St. Paul’s) added a goal.

Vermont opened the second quarter with its first score of the game, as Horvath scored 59 seconds into the stanza. But UMBC went on another 6-0 surge to take an insurmountable 12-1 advantage at the break. Jones scored four of those six goals, including the half’s final score with four seconds remaining.

The Retrievers added five goals in the third quarter and led, 17-4, after 45 minutes, before substituting liberally in the final stanza.

UMBC amassed a season high with 45 shots and outshot the Catamounts, 45-27. Retriever sophomore goalkeeper Wes DiRito (Odenton, Md./DeMatha) recorded the win, making six saves, while allowing four goals in 45 minutes. Rosenberg took the loss for Vermont, recording six saves and allowing 12 scores.

Gregoire finished with four goals, while Young contributed a pair of goals and a season-high three assists. Senior midfielder Joe Lustgarten (Wading River, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River) posted a goal and three helpers.

UMBC is now 4-1 at home in 2013 and 21-4 at home in America East regular season play.

The Retrievers travel to New York to face Stony Brook in a league game on Sat., April 13.

A pair of America East lacrosse squads hungry for a victory face off at UMBC Stadium on Saturday, April 6, when the UMBC Retrievers (3-6, 0-1) host the Vermont Catamounts (3-7, 1-0) in league play. Both teams dropped their league openers, as UMBC lost a heartbreaking 15-14 overtime decision at Hartford, while Stony Brook won, 19-10, in Burlington. The game will be broadcast on www.umbcretrievers.tv.

UMBC battled back from a deficit for most of the afternoon and led Hartford, 14-11 with less than six minutes remaining, but the Hawks tied the game with 11 seconds left and won less than a minute into overtime. Freshman midfielder Pat Young led the visitors with a season-best four goals and five points. Senior attackmen Scott Jones and Matt Gregoire added three goals apiece.

A LOOK AT THE OPPONENT. Stony Brook defeated Vermont, 19-10, in the America East men’s lacrosse opener for both teams on March 30 at Virtue Field. The Catamounts were led by senior attackman Drew Philie and junior linemate Graham Horvath, who collected three goals apiece. Freshman netminder Justin Rosenberg took the loss for Vermont despite making 12 saves on the day. Philie continues to climb up the ranks in several categories of the Vermont men’s lacrosse all-time records. He now ranks fifth in all-time goals (112) at Vermont, seventh in points (160), and 10th in assists (48). The captain needs just two goals to move up to fourth place on the all-time goals list.

ALL-TIME SERIES: UMBC has won all nine previous meetings with Vermont, but the last three meetings have been decided by a total of five goals.

THE LAST TIME WE MET: Scott Hopmann led visiting UMBC with three goals and eight other Retrievers hit the nets as UMBC never trailed in an 11-8 America East Conference victory at Vermont in 2012.

UP NEXT: UMBC will play its second of three America East road contests when the Retrievers travel to Stony Brook for a Saturday, April 13 contest.

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West Hartford, Conn.- Hartford midfielder Garrett Dollard scored the game-tying goal with 11 seconds remaining in regulation and tallied the game-winner 54 seconds into overtime as the host Hawks edged the UMBC Retrievers, 15-14, in the America East opener for both teams at Al-Marzook Stadium.

Hartford sophomore and attackman Kevin O’Shea led all scorers with five goals and one assist.

The Retrievers played from behind for the entire first half, but took the lead for the first time at 10-9 on back-to-back scores by Young late in the third quarter. Gregoire capped his hat trick and gave the visitors a two-goal advantage with 1:28 remaining.

But Hartford (4-4, 1-0) sent the game to the fourth quarter down by only one as they scored with 28 second left in the frame, then tied the score at 11-all just 1:01 into the fourth.

UMB C (3-6, 0-1) then snatched the momentum back as Young recorded an unassisted score with 10:19 remaining. The Retrievers added to the advantage as Jones fired home a man-up goal from 12 yards out and scored inside on a feed from Young to take a 14-11 lead with 6:39 remaining.

The Hawks rallied, scoring a man-up goal with 5:42 remaining, and then tallied on a fast break while down a man with 3:02 to play.

In the final minute of regulation, UMBC was assessed a delay of game penalty, but was en route to killing it off after a loose ball situation with 31 seconds to play, but the Hawks managed to call a time out. Hartford’s Jared Franze found Dollard cutting inside and his shot from eight yards out beat UMBC sophomore netminder wes DiRito (Odenton, Md./DeMatha) to knot the score at 14-all.

After Hartford mishandled the ball on the ensuing draw, UMBC sent the ball the length of the field and Jones popped it into the net, but just one second after the clock read 0:00.

UMBC won the draw to start overtime, but committed a turnover before on an immediate drive to the goal. Hartford took possession and Dollard took the ball behind the goal, popped out on the right side, and bounced a shot past DiRito from close range. .

Both goalkeepers were outstanding at various stages of the game. DiRito amassed 14 saves, including 11 in the middle two stanzas to allow UMBC to rally. Hartford-s Frank Piechota came up with 12 stops, including 10 in the first and fourth quarters.

The UMBC men’s lacrosse team (3-5) opens its tenth season of America East Conference play on Sat., March 30 when they travel to West Hartford, Conn. to take on the Hartford Hawks (3-4). The Retrievers are seeking to earn their tenth berth in the postseason America East Tournament and their fourth league title. The contest vs. the Hawks faces off at 2:00 p.m.

UMBC just won its second of three consecutive home games in an eight-day stretch with a 10-8 victory over Mount St. Mary’s on March 23. UMBC got a pair of goals from its close defenders, including the game-winner by senior Ethan Murphy in the late stages of the game. Sophomore netminder Wes DiRito made 11 saves as UMBC held the Mount three goals below its season average.

FOR OPENERS: UMBC is 6-3 in previous America East Conference openers. The Retrievers snapped a two-game slide in the wake of the 2012 victory vs. Hartford. The Retrievers are 2-2 when opening an America East season on the road.

BEASTS OF AMERICA EAST: UMBC is 36-11 (.766) in nine years of America East competition and 20-4 (.833) at UMBC Stadium. UMBC has never lost back-to-back regular season contests in league play. In 2012, the Retrievers (3-2 AEC) posted a winning league record and earned a spot in the four-team America East Conference Championships for the ninth consecutive year.

A LOOK AT THE OPPONENT: Hartford put up a good fight, but it was unable to take down the University of Massachusetts as the Minutemen scored a pair of late goals to come out of Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium with an 13-11 triumph on March 23. Hartford, which rode a three-game win streak into the evening, dips to 3-4 on the season. Freshman midfielder Jack Bobzien tallied five points, a team-high, on one goal and four assists. Bobzien (5g, 20a) was named America East Conference Rookie of the Week and has 20 assists through seven games, including 12 in his last three outings. Junior attackman Andrew Cacchio leads the Hawks with 12 goals scored. Five of Hartford’s seven games have been decided by three goals or less and UH is 3-2 in those contests.

ALL-TIME SERIES: UMBC leads the series, 6-4, and snapped a six-game slide to the Hawks with a 16-12 victory at UMBC Stadium in 2012. The Retrievers have dropped three consecutive games at Al-Marzook Field. Hartford has averaged 12.0 goals per game vs. UMBC in the last five meetings after the Retrievers averaged 15.6 goals per game in the first five meetings.

THE LAST TIME WE MET: Joe Lustgarten smashed a career highs with five goals and eight total points, leading host UMBC to a 16-12 victory over Hartford in the America East Conference opener for both squads on March 31, 2012. Junior attackman Scott Jones added four goals and an assist for UMBC, while sophomore attackman Matt Gregoire added three goals in his first start of the campaign. The Retrievers led 5-0 after 15 minutes and 8-2 at halftime. The Hawks got as close as 14-11 early in the fourth quarter before a Gregoire goal halted the momentum.

UP NEXT: UMBC returns to UMBC Stadium for its league home opener vs. Vermont on Saturday, April 7.

BALTIMORE- UMBC senior close defender Ethan Murphy (West Seneca, N.Y./West Seneca East) snapped an 8-8 tie with his first goal of the season with 6:48 remaining as the host Retrievers prevailed, 10-8, over Mount St. Mary’s at UMBC Stadium.

The game-winning goal capped an outstanding day for Murphy, who led an excellent defensive effort by the Retrievers with six ground balls and three caused turnovers. Retriever sophomore netminder Wes DiRito (Odenton, Md./DeMatha) recorded 11 saves, and only permitted a pair of Mountaineer goals after halftime.

Mount St. Mary’s was paced by senior attackman Brett Schmidt was scored two goals and added three assists.

UMBC led, 7-6, at halftime, but the Mount scored the lone goal of the third quarter to send the contest to the fourth tied at 7-7. Young and Mount midfielder Daniel Stranix traded scores early in the fourth quarter before Murphy struck for the third time in his career. DiRito made a save on one end and Murphy scooped up the ground ball. He raced down the field and dished to sophomore midfielder Tim Lang (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem North). Lang brought the ball into the offensive third and fed the trailing Murphy, whose shot beat reserve Mount goalkeeper Frankie McCarthy to the off-stick side.

The Retrievers (3-5) added an insurance goal with 5:25 remaining, as Jones hauled in a rebound off McCarthy, wheeled and scored to give UMBC a two-goal advantage.

The Mount had a late man-up advantage with 1:27 remaining, but could not capitalize and slipped to 4-6 on the season.

McCarthy took the loss for his side, making five saves and allowing all three fourth quarter goals. Starter Adam Borgogelli had six first-half saves for the Mountaineers.

The Retrievers improved to 20-0 in all-time meetings vs. Mount St. Mary’s. The two teams had not met since 2003.

The visitors jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but UMBC scored four consecutive goals in under five minutes to take a 4-2 lead late in the first quarter. The Retrievers led, 4-3, after 15 minutes and 7-6 at the half.

UMBC opens America East play next Saturday at Hartford.

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High Point freshman attackmen Dan Lomas and Adam Seal each scored three goals.

The Retrievers had not scored the game’s first goal in 2013, but burst from the gates and took a 4-0 advantage by the 9:03 mark of the first quarter. Campbell opened the scoring on an unassisted goal 4:14 into the proceedings ,getting to the inside and beating HPU netminder Austin Geisler. Lewnes made it 2-0, converting a Zach Linkous feed at the 5:39 mark and Retriever junior face-off specialist Phil Poe (Harwood, Md./DeMatha) won the ensuing draw and scored six seconds later to push the margin to 3-0. Young capped the run before Panther sophomore attackman Matt Thistle closed the scoring for the quarter with 1:35 remaining.

Thistle’s goal started a 5-2 response by High Point as the visitors cut the Retriever advantage to 6-5 on Lomas’ 20th goal of the season
at the 8:43 mark of the second stanza. But UMBC answered with a 3-0 surge in a span of 2:04 on goals by Campbell, Linkous and Gregoire to take a 9-5 advantage. Lomas scored the final goal of the half with 1:51 to play in the quarter and UMBC took a9-6 advantage to the locker room .

The Panthers closed to within a pair of goals twice in the third quarter, outscoring the Retrievers, 3-2, in the stanza.

UMBC led, 11-9, after 45 minutes, but scored twice in the first 3:24 of the fourth quarter and added two more in a 34-second span in the
middle of the stanza to take control. Senior attackman Joe Lustgarten (Wading River, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River) caught the High Point defense off-guard and came from behind the net to score a man-up goal 73 seconds into the quarter to give the Retrievers a 12-9 advantage and Jones finished a Young feed to push the advantage to 13-9. Gregoire, Linkous and Young recorded the final three scores for the Retrievers as the team tallied a season-high in goals.

DiRito made 10 of his 15 saves in the second and fourth quarters. Geisler stopped 10 UMBC shots as the visitors outshot the hosts,
41-35.

Jones scored three or more goals in a game for the 15th time in his career.

UMBC continues its three-game homestand when the squad welcomes Towson to UMBC Stadium on Tuesday evening. The opening face-off is set for 7:30 p.m.

UMBC returns home for the first time since Feb. 26 to begin a three-game homestand before America East play begins on March 30. The
Retrievers face High Point (2-5) University on Sat., March 16 in the first of three games in an eight-day span. Don Zimmerman fs squad will welcome local rivals Towson (March 19) and Mount St. Mary’s (March 23) before opening league play at Hartford on March 30. The contest vs. a young, talented Panther squad faces off at 1:05 p.m. on Saturday. All UMBC home lacrosse games are streamed in high definition on www.umbcretrievers.tv.

UMBC is coming off a 13-7 setback at No. 6 Johns Hopkins on Friday evening at Homewood Field. The Retrievers fell behind 5-0 after one quarter before going toe-to-toe with the Blue Jays for the final 45 minutes. In an eleven-day span, UMBC faced No. 4 Loyola (Feb. 26), No. 13 Fairfield, and No. 6 Johns Hopkins (March 8)- all on the road.

Senior attackman Scott Jones leads UMBC with nine goals and ten points scored. Freshman Pat Young posted his second two-goal game vs. Johns Hopkins and has seven goals in 2013. Sophomore Wes DiRito made his first collegiate start against the Blue Jays and went the distance, making nine stops.

TOP DOG: Head Coach Don Zimmerman enters his 20th season at UMBC in 2013. The Retriever mentor stood eighth in victories (213) and 15th in winning percentage (60.7%) amongst active Division I coaches after the 2012 campaign. The win over Binghamton on April 10, 2010 was the 200th in the career of UMBC head coach Don Zimmerman. He is now 214-139 in his 27th year as a collegiate mentor. He coached his 250th game at UMBC vs. Hartford on May 4, 2011.

The UMBC men’s lacrosse team has selected seniors Scott Jones (Port Coquitlam, B.C./Terry Fox), Neill Lewnes (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary’s), and Ethan Murphy (West Seneca, N.Y./West Seneca East) as its captains or the 2012-13 academic year. Jones and Murphy will serve as team captains for the second consecutive year.

In addition, senior attackman Matt Gregoire (Crofton, Md./South River) has been tabbed by the coaching staff as a 2013 team captain.

A LOOK AT THE OPPONENT: Freshman Dan Lomas scored six goals to lead the High Point University (2-5) men’s lacrosse team to 13-10 win over Michigan in their last action on Wednesday, March 6 at Vert Stadium. Sophomore Matt Thistle added three goals and three assists in the win. Lomas (19g, 2a) and Thistle (10g, 11a) are tied for the team lead with 21 points apiece. Goalkeeper Austin Geisler Tis ranked sixth in the nation with 14.14 saves per game and 13th with a save percentage of 58.2. The first-year program’s other win occurred vs. Towson at Vert Stadium, a 9-7 victory on Feb. 8. Three of their five losses have been by three goals or less to Delaware (12-10), St. Joseph’s (8-5) and Jacksonville (9-8).

ALL-TIME SERIES: This is the first meeting between UMBC and High Point.

NOTE: High Point associate head coach Pat Tracy was an assistant coach at UMBC for four seasons (2008-2011).

UP NEXT: UMBC has a quick turnaround and will play its final mid-week game of the season on Tues., March 19 when they welcome the Towson Tigers to UMBC Stadium. The opening face-off is set for 7:35 p.m.

BALTIMORE- UMBC senior goalkeeper Adam Cohen made 12 of his 13 saves in the final 45 minutes and the host Retrievers utilized a 5-1 third quarter surge to knock off Rutgers, 11-7, at UMBC Stadium.

UMBC evened its early season record at 1-1, while Rutgers fell to 2-2.

Eight different Retrievers scored goals and the hosts were led by senior attackman Matt Gregoire (Crofton, Md./South River), who scored his first three goals of the season. Linemates Joe Lustgarten (Wading River, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River) and Scott Jones (Port Coquitlam, B.C./Terry Fox) also had strong effots for the Retrievers. Lustgarten led UMBC with four points, scoring once and adding three assists, while Jones scored twice and added a helper.

Rutgers junior attackman Scott Klimchak led all players with five goals.

UMBC defeated Rutgers by the identical 11-7 score in Piscataway, N.J. last season. Cohen also shined in that game, making 14 saves and scoring a goal late in the contest.

The Scarlet Knights jumped on top, 2-0, less than five minutes into the contest, but UMBC closed the quarter with goals by junior midfielder Conor Finch (Westminster, Md./Boys’ Latin) and Gregoire. Jones gave UMBC its first lead of the day midway through the second quarter, but Klimchak evened the score with 4:09 remaining in the half and the teams went to the locker room knotted at 3-3.

But UMBC came out with a determined third quarter effort. Despite losing all six face-offs in the quarter, the Retrievers scored on five of 12 shots. Sophomore midfielder Derek Bertolini(Madison, Conn./Choate) gave the hosts the lead for good with an unassisted goal from deep on the right wing just 1:44 into the stanza.

After an exchange of goals, the Retrievers scored three times in the final 2:38 of the quarter to take command. Jones converted a Lustgarten feed on a man-up situation, rifling a shot past RU netminder Kris Alleyne from eight yards out.

The Retrievers’ next two goals were tough chances as Gregoire managed to dump in a Lustgarten feed from just outside the crease after initially bobbling the pass from Lustgarten with 77 seconds to play in the third. Then , freshman midfielder Pat Young (Ewing, N.J./Christchurch School) took a pass from Jones and converted an acrobatic shot while driving to the goal with 0.7 to play in the stanza.

UMBC led, 8-4, after three quarters and extended the run to 6-1 as Lustgarten scored on a fast-break 54 seconds into the fourth. But RU kept coming, as Klimchak scored twice and freshman midfielder Jacob Coretti cut the deficit to 9-7 with 5:21 remaining.

Rutgers won the ensuing draw, but Cohen made a save and triggered a fast break. Jones’ shot from the left side was saved by Alleyne, but Gregoire knocked in the rebound to restore a three-goal lead with 4:08 remaining.

UMBC held the ball for the majority of the final four minutes and freshman attackman Nate Lewnes (Arnold, Md./St. Mary’s) beat a double-team and added the 11th goal with 1:49 to play.

Rutgers outshot UMBC, 40-35 and outdrew the hosts, 13-8.

Lustgarten now has multiple assists in his last 11 outings, one shy of Steve Marohl’s 1992 school record of 12.